Perception
by Era of Rain
Summary: Yes, no, maybe so -- Jet doesn't really know anymore. Spoilers for Book 2.


**A/N:** Regardless of the fact that he died months ago, Jet's recently become one of my favourite characters.

I've done some minor edits, so hopefully it flows a bit better than before. Like I said though, I didn't change much.

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender.

* * *

Jet arrives at a ferry port. It reminds him vaguely of the one that took him to Ba Sing Se, which seems so long ago. He tries not to remember it, because it means remembering Li, and in Jet's opinion, this is all Li's fault.

The woman who stamps his ticket looks like the one who stamped his all those weeks ago – cranky and probably willing to snap at anyone. That's why Jet doesn't ask her why they even bother with tickets when they're dead. He doesn't want to start an argument, even though he knows he'd win.

The people on the boat to Ba Sing Se had been more cheery though. There, most had hoped for a brighter future and grasped onto that hope because it was all they had. Here, people know there is no hope or a brighter future, and Jet knows that too. There are some though, who don't seem to accept that. They scream and beg for another chance (_please, let me back, let me back_). No one with any real power is listening though, only those who watch the screaming people with sympathetic or passive eyes. Jet is one of the latter, as he looks with disinterest. He wants to be resurrected too, but he knows crying on a boat to nowhere isn't going to accomplish that. Neither is yelling, like that boy who looks oddly like Li, nor is attacking. Jet has his cane swords (_didn't he throw one of them at Long Feng?_), but for now, he is tired of fighting. In this world, it will accomplish nothing.

* * *

"How did you die?" a woman asks when they reach the other side. She has burns all over her upper body – burns that Jet has seen many times before – and is dressed in Fire Nation clothing. Normally, he'd be immediately attacking, but the realisation that her own people might've attacked her strikes him. Of course it wouldn't be below them, Jet thinks, they're the Fire N—

He stops in mid-thought.

"I was killed by someone from the Earth Kingdom," he answers, since he knows he can't deny the truth, and almost adds, "And I nearly did the same." It hurts, not only because he feels betrayed, but also because he has to accept that Fire Nation's not the only nation with scum. The Dai Li should've been the ally – they were part of the Earth Kingdom. Yet, what hurts Jet the most though is knowing he's just as bad as the man who killed him; betrayal is betrayal, no matter how many enemies you kill in the process. No wonder Katara and the others were so angry with him – he's angry with Long Feng, though death has dimmed his fury.

"Aren't you upset that you're dead?"

He thinks about this. "No, not really."

The woman nods and then fades away. Jet doesn't comment as the steel of his weapons suddenly become cooler.

* * *

He knows he has walked for a long time now, but for some reason, his feet don't hurt. They've become sore before across shorter distances, so this discovery confuses him. Eventually, he comes to the conclusion that being dead just works that way. It saddens him, in a way, and he can't figure out why.

* * *

Being dead is also lonely, he concludes, and Jet almost wishes Smellerbee and Longshot could be with him if it weren't for the fact he doesn't want them to be dead either. He can't even find a way to know how they're doing, because the only thing in sight is, essentially, nothing. So, whatever he thought earlier about fighting be damned, he hooks his cane sword around the ankle of a passing man and tugs in hopes that it'll relieve his loneliness. The man he attacks has a strong build and is strangely familiar with his moustache, hoop earrings, and the sorrow he stirs, but Jet ignores it – he doesn't want to reminiscence about his bad times. Fortunately for him, he doesn't have time to because the man firebends at him, the heat of the flame bringing back better memories. Jet easily dodges it and attacks again. The old thrill of fighting heats up inside him as a smirk appears on his face. He can almost taste and feel the wheat in his mouth again, and he strikes with more vigour.

The fight, for him, is not about the Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation – he's almost sure his opponent thinks the same. The fight, for him, is not about being pissed off – he's almost sure his opponent _doesn't_ think the same. The fight isn't about staying in practice or showing off, or for the sake of survival like he's used to – they're both dead now (_we can't die again_). He is fighting for the sake of fighting. It makes him sound like a brute, Jet knows, but the only people around to care are the man in front of him and himself.

* * *

"Do you miss your friends?" the burned woman asks, fading in. Taking a few moments to recognize her, Jet blinks. Something tells him he should be more startled, but he isn't.

"No, not really." A lie. Fighting has cheered him up, but he misses everyone more than ever now.

"Aren't you upset that you're dead?"

He thinks about this, the question eerily familiar, but doesn't answer.

* * *

The world isn't very interesting. No one talks to or even glances at him anymore, including the Fire Nation woman. Typically, Jet would be offended as he's always been at the centre of attention, but he can't bring himself to care now ("_typically" only mattered when he was alive_).

* * *

Jet isn't completely certain what he had expected this world to look like. Death had always been some sort of an illusion when he was alive, like the attack that came close to hitting you, but didn't. He killed people; it had never been the other way around until Long Feng stuck him here.

Well, he certainly knows what it looks like now – nothing. Jet can see nothing but endless space, not even another person. He faintly recalls there being a ferry when he first arrived, so there had to have been water, but he can't even remember that much (_was there even a boat?)_. The short conversations he had with the woman seems so far away now as well – he struggles to repeat what she asked. Even the fight he can't remember, which he is sure only happened minutes or hours ago. He'll just assume he won.

Remembering when he was still alive is easy though. With almost-perfect clarity, he reminiscences about when he was still living with his parents. His mother scolding him with a stern frown for breaking the vase – she had forgiven him without difficulty. His father teaching him how to use duel swords – he hadn't been disappointed when he favoured the cane swords instead. He can name from the top of his head every Freedom Fighter, including the few that left over the years. He could give detailed recounts as to how he met each and every single one of them. He remembers water soaking his clothes when Katara attacked him, the feeling of rocks under his feet when he traveled to Ba Sing Se, the taste of the food he had stolen on the ferry, and the texture of the poster of Appa when the bison had been missing. Most of all, Jet remembers the feeling of the inevitable, with Smellerbee crying by his side and Longshot poised to defend if need be. He knows that right now, he's feeling the longing to be back with them.

Suddenly, the fact he was alive is more real than the fact he's dead is, and he's overcome with regret and anger. He can't be dead – wasn't he once alive? Having once been alive is all that he is made up of now, and he needs it. Being dead makes him nothing, like the world around him.

Jet yells (_not scream, not beg_) at the sky that doesn't exist for another chance at life.

* * *

**A/N**: If that didn't make perfect sense, good, because that was my intention. In this, Jet's not really in the world of the dead, as so much as he is in his own perception of what happens after his death. Hence the Li and Colonel Mongke look-alikes, despite the fact that Zuko is very much alive, and general oddness like the randomly appearing burned woman.

Constructive criticism is welcome.


End file.
